A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §12-3-5a, relating to
creating “The Prompt Pay Act of 2011;” requiring invoices to
state agencies be paid within sixty days; providing exceptions
to three specific agencies whose invoices must be processed
within fifteen days; requiring interest be paid on invoices
not paid within the prescribed time period; providing
exceptions for contested invoices; providing that no agency
owes another agency interest on an unpaid invoice; and
defining the term “state agency.”

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding
thereto a new section, designated §12-3-5a, to read as follows:

(a) Any properly registered and qualified vendor who supplies
services or commodities to any state agency shall be entitled to
prompt payment upon presentation to that agency of a legitimate
uncontested invoice.

(b) For purchases of services or commodities made on or after
July 1, 2011, a state check shall be issued in payment thereof
within sixty days after a legitimate uncontested invoice is
received by the state agency receiving the services or commodities.
Any state check issued after sixty days shall include interest at
the current rate, as determined by the State Tax Commissioner under
the provisions of section seventeen-a, article ten, chapter eleven
of this code. That interest shall be calculated for the sixty-first
day after such invoice was received by the state agency until the
date the payment is made.

(c) For purposes of this section, an invoice shall be deemed
to be received by a state agency on the date the invoice is marked
as received by the agency, or three days after the date of the
postmark made by the United States Postal Service as evidenced on
the envelope in which the invoice is mailed, whichever is earlier.
However, in the event an invoice is received by a state agency
prior to the date on which the commodities or services covered by
the invoice were actually delivered and accepted or fully performed
and accepted, the invoice shall be deemed to be received on the
date on which the commodities or services covered by the invoice
were actually delivered and accepted or fully performed and
accepted.

(d) The State Auditor shall deduct the amount of any interest
due for late payment of an invoice from any appropriate account of
the state agency responsible for the late payment upon request from
the vendor and appropriate documentation therewith. If two or more
state agencies are responsible for the late payment, the State
Auditor shall deduct the amount of interest due on a pro rata
basis.

(e) The state agency initially receiving a legitimate
uncontested invoice shall process such invoice for payment within
ten days from its receipt: Provided, That invoices to the
Department of Health and Human Resources, the Division of Highways
and the Public Employees Insurance Agency shall be processed within
fifteen days of their receipt. No state agency shall be liable for
payment of interest owed by another state agency under this
section.

(f) Any other state agency charged by law with processing a
state agency’s requisition for payment of a legitimate uncontested
invoice shall either process the claim or reject it for good cause
within ten days after such state agency receives it. Failure to
comply with the requirements of this subsection renders that state
agency liable for payment of the interest mandated by this section
when there is a failure to promptly pay a legitimate uncontested
invoice: Provided, That no such state agency shall be liable for
payment of interest owed by another state agency under this
section.

(g) For purposes of this section, the phrase “state agency”
means any agency, department, board, office, bureau, commission,
authority or any other entity of state government.

(h) This section applies to, without exception, to any and all
payments made between the repeal of “The Prompt Pay Act of 1990,”
section fifty-four, article three, chapter five-a of this code on
March 13, 2010, and the effective date of this section.

(i) This section may be cited as “The Prompt Pay Act of 2011.”

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create “The Prompt Pay
Act of 2011.” The bill requires invoices to state agencies be paid
within sixty days and provides exceptions for three specific
agencies whose invoices must be processed within fifteen days. The
bill requires interest be paid on invoices not paid within the
prescribed time period. The bill provides exceptions for contested
invoices. The bill provides that no agency owes another agency
interest on an unpaid invoice. The bill also defines the term
“state agency.”